The Nature Conservancy in Florida

E. O. Wilson and Jeff Danter visit in the Red Hills of Alabama in 2005.

A Biodiversity "Hot Spot"

Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in North Florida.

The Nature Conservancy owns and manages more than 49,000 acres in Florida. Discover how the Conservancy works in the Sunshine State.

E.O. Wilson, Ph.D. was recently honored at a reception hosted by The Nature Conservancy and the Harvard Club of Tallahassee. The group met at the state Capitol to celebrate Wilson’s 80th birthday and offer a tribute to his astounding conservation legacy.

The reception also kicked off the Conservancy’s Edward O. Wilson Fund for North Florida – committed to sustaining the biologically rich and diverse lands and waters of that area. North Florida is recognized by leading experts as one of only six biodiversity “hot spots” in the United States.

The E.O. Wilson Fund will help safeguard significant forests and revitalize sandhill and pine flatwood acreage. It will allow restoration of the area’s oyster reefs and seagrass beds. Wildlife habitat will be improved, allowing rare native species – such as the indigo snake, red-cockaded woodpecker and Okaloosa darter – to be reintroduced. And, freshwater springs that serve as winter habitat for the Florida manatee will be restored.

“E.O. Wilson invented entire fields of ecology,” said the Florida Chapter's state director, Jeff Danter. “The Conservancy is honored that he will lend his name to our efforts to protect biodiversity in North Florida.”

A Living Legend

Wilson was a world-renowned research professor at Harvard University, and twice won the Pulitzer Prize. His distinguished career as a naturalist and ethicist led many of today’s top conservationists into the field, including Jeff Danter.